Grab-bucket-crane toy



Feb. 16 1926. 1,573,203

Y L. sTRoHAcKER l GRAB BUCKET CRANE TOY' Filed April 25, 1924 Feb.. 16 1926.

L. STROHACKER GRAB BUCKET CRANE TOY Filed April 25. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheetl ,i Patented Feb. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,573,203 PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS STROHACKER, 0F FREEPORT, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO STRUCTO MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF FREEPORT, ILLINOIS, .A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

GRAB-BUCKET-CRANE TOY.`

Application filed April 25, 1924. Serial No. 709,046.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS S'rnoHAcKEn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Freeport, Stephenson County, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grab-Bucket-Crane Toys, of which the following is declared` to be a full, clear, and exact description. This invention Vrelates to grab bucket crane toys and its principal object is to provide a novel and useful toy which shall bev interesting, enjoyable and instructive to children and others. Anotherobject is to provide a toy, simulating a grab bucket crane, which is of simple, substantial and durable construction, and one that can be easily manipulated by a child. Another object is to provide a grab bucket crane 'toy having hoisting mechanism for the bucket and automatic-means for dumping the bucket and lfor closing it, controlled by a single crank.

Another object is to provide a toy having a grab bucket and having hoisting mechanism arranged to permit the person manipulating the toy, -to open and close the bucket at any point at which it is supported. To such ends thisinvention consists in a toy having a Igrab bucket, raising and lowering mechanism for opening and closing the bucket. It further consists in a device having a grab bucket, and hoisting mechanism therefor,

including a windlass operated from and by ing a single crank and having novel means for automatically opening and closing the bucket. It 'further consists in. a device hava grab bucket, flexible connections for raising and lowering it, drums over which the flexible connections are trained and a lost motion connection between said drums, whereby they may be rotated in unison or individually, through a'limited extent, said flexible connections being connected to the grab bucket in such manner that when supported by one' flexible connection the bucket is held closed and when supported by the other flexible connection it is held open. The invention further consists in the several novel features hereinafter fully set forth and is pointed out in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawings accompanying this application, in

-of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspecing and lowering the bucket; Fig. 6 is a plan of the windlass partly broken away; Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. G ybut showing the parts in a different position and Fig. 8 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. G.

Referring to said drawings, which illustrate a simple embodiment of the present invention, the reference character l0 designates the running gear of the structure which, in its simplest form, may comprise a platform 11 mounted upon wheels 12. Above the running gear is a superstructure, which as shown, comprises a cabin or other housing or enclosure 13, swivelcd upon the running gear, the swivel connection being shown as comprising a block 14 and a king pin or rivet 15 extending through said block and through the floor ,16 of the cabin and the floor of the platform 11. The swivel connection provides means whereby the superstructure may be turned horizontally to stand at an angle withfrespect to the running gear. becured to the front end of the cabin or housing 13 is a crane 17 which may comprise two crane arms 18 secured to the lower portion of the cabin, and two braces 19 which connect the upper end of the cabin with the arms 17 intermediate their ends. The upper end of the crane arms are spaced apart and secured together by a stay bolt 20. Obviously the exact construction f the parts thus far described is immaterial as they may be varied to suit the style. or type of structure which they simulate. p

Mounted in the cabin or housing 13 is arwindlass 21, which as shown comprises two drums 22, 23 that are mounted u on'a crank shaft 24 which extends throng the side walls 2 5 of the cabin and is rotatively mounted therein. The crank shaft has a crank 26 at one end by means of which the shaft is rotated. In the form of windlass shown, one drum 221 is iixedly or rigidly ,secured to the eran s aft 24 as for instance by a cotter pin 27 and the other drum (23) is loosely mounted upon the crank shaft. A clutch like arrangement, having a lost motion connection, is provided between the interacting clutch pins or studs 28, 29, one

n each other from the adjacent end faces 'ofv secured on each drum and arranged to be brought into engagement with .the other when one drum is moved relative to the other. These clutchi pins extend toward the drums and overlap, somewhat like the teeth of the ordinary toothed clutch. The drum 23 is frictionally held against rotation relative to the other drum 22, by a colled com ression spring 30 which surrounds the cra shaft 24 and is confined 1n recesses formed in the adjacent ends of the drums,

` y and said coiled compression s ring bears against the end faces of 'sai drums or against inter osed collars a. The ,spring 30 acts as a rake and presses the druml 23 against they wall 25 of the cabin or housing 13 to thereby hold said drum stationary,

' but this force is overcome when the crank shaft is turned and the clutch pin 28 of the drum 22 is engaged with the clutch pin 29- of the drum 23. .It will be observed that with the construction shown, the d rum 22 may rotate through the greater portion of a .complete circle before its clutch pin 28 en' gages with the clutch p in 29 of the drum 23. This permits the crank shafts 24to be -turned to thereby rotate the drum 22 through a limited extent and therebyV wind up or unwind a portion of the chain attached thereto, without rotating the other drum 23. .When the clutch pins 'come into contact both drums rotate in unison and both chains move in unison. Said chains are shown at 31, 32 and are trained over pulleys or sheaves 33,` 34 journaled on a pin- 35 secured to the upper end of the crane arms 18. The chains 31, 32l are connected to the grab bucket 36 and said bucket will now be described. n

IIn the simple form of grab bucket illustrated, it com rises two companion members 37, 37, w ich for convenience I shall call jaws and said jaws are hingedly 0i' pivotally connected together upon a pin or rod 38. Each jaw or section 37 of the bucket is formed with a sidewall 39, al

bottom wall 40 and end walls 41 and the end walls are formed with perforated ears 42 through which the pin or rod 38 extends. The ends of the rod for pin are'headed down outside of the ears, to-hold thel two jaws of the bucket thereon. The chain '31. is .the

hoisting chain and is connected to the pinA gravity, the meeting edges of the jaws abut-v i ting against each other as shown in Fig. 2. Secured to the sidewall 39 of each section' 37 is a link 43, which may be-in the form of a piece of wire having lits ends bent to form eyes, one ofv which enga es in a hole in the.

side wall of the jaw and t e other of which is attached to the chain 32 as for instance by a ring 44. .Under certain circumstances the jaws are operated by the chain 32, the chain 31 being slacked, and in this case the jawsl swing apart -under'the iniuence of gravity,

inasmuch as the points of suspensinxfoi the i bucket are then at the places where the links 43 are attached to the jaws.

The chain 32 controls the jaws of the bucket and is used in opening and closing said jaws. vReferring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that when the bucket is suspended by the chain 31 the jaws will remain closed under the influence of gravity while there is any slack in the chain 32. The bucket may A beraised in this condition by moving the hoisting chain 31 and maintaining a slight amount of slack in the chain 32.l If, however, the slack is taken out of chain 32 and the chain 31 is slacked up, the support v closed by raising the chain 31 through a y' predetermined distance. The bucket may e lowered in its open osition by lowering the chains simultaneous y.

The other ends of the chains are securedy to the drums by staples 40, 40a or otherwise as is desired. In the form of the invention illustrated the chains are. secured to the vdrums at points distant from the clutch pins 28, 29, the chain 31 being secured to the drum 22 at a' point approximately ninety degrees to the left from the clutch pins, (see Fig. 5) and the chain 32 being secured to the drum 23- at a point approximately ninetyv degrees to the right from the clutch pins, so that when the parts are in .the osition shown in Fig. 5 with the rclutch pins c ontacting and the bucket lowered to the surface .upon which the toy is standing", the places of securement of the chains to the drums will be approximately diainetrically opposite each other.

In operation and assuming that the -bucket is resting upony the surface upon which the toy is standingvand referring to Fig. v5, it will be seen that by rotating the crank 26 in the direction of the arrow 1thereon, ther drum 22 will be rotated, whereas the drum 23 will remain'stationary; until the clutch.

pin'28 engages the clutch pin 29. During thispartial rotation 'of the drum 22 the `staple 40 will move through an arc of almost three hundred and sixty degrees before the clutch pin 28 engages with the clutch pin 29 and the attached end portion of the chain 31 will then be wound approximately half way around the drum 22. The other end of the chain 31 will therefore lift the pin 38 and the attached ends of the bucket jaws from the position seen in Fig. 3 to that seen in Fig. 2 thereby closing the jaws 37 of the bucket. As son as the clutch pin 28 engages the clutch pin 29, thecontinued rotation of the crank 26 in the direction of the arrow thereon in Fig.j 5 will cause the two drums to rotate in unison thereby winding up both chains simultaneously and lifting the bucket while in its closed position. After the bucket .has been raised to its upper limit of movement the crank 26 may be turned in the opposite direction, namely in a clockwise direction, whereupon the clutch pin 28 will rst be moved away from the clutch pin 29 and approximately one turn of the hoisting chain 31 will be paid out before the clutch pin .28 engages the other side ofthe clutch pin 29. By paying out this amount of the hoisting chain before the other chainis paid out, the supporting pin 38 and ends of the `bucket j awfs 17 connected therewith.I will be lowered from the position seen in Fig. 2 to that seen in Fig. 3 and the bucket will thereby be opened. The continued rotation of the crank in a clockwise direction will lower the open bucket to the surface upon which the toy stands, and if rotation of the crank be con tinued after the bucket comes to rest upon the surface, the chain 31 commences to wind up on the drum 22 before the chain 32 is wholly unwound from the drum 23, the supporting pin 38 and the ends of the bucket jaws 27 connected therewith, will be raised, and the bucket closed before the slack in the chain 32 is'taken up, after which both chains will be wound up on the drums in unison and the bucket will be raised while in its closed position. From this it will be` seen that the bucket while in its uppermost position may be opened, lowered to the surface upon which the toy is standing and opened in such position, closed again and raised to the upper limit of its movement by continually turning vthe crank in one direction.y Moreover while at vanyplace be tween its upper and lower Ilimits ofmovement, the bucket may be opened( or close-d by properly manipulating the crank.

From the above it is obvious that the toy can be voperatedby a child because'itreq uires no other skill' than that of `merely turning the crank in a clockwise ,direction and in a contraclockwise direction. There lare no parts that are likely tov get out of order from ordinary usage. Ordinary link chains are shown for handling the bucket but it is understood that other exible connections, as for instance, light cables or ropes, may be substituted therefor.

More or less variation of the exact details of construction is possible without departing from the spirit of this invention; I desire, therefore, not to limit myself to the exact form of the construction shown and described, but intend, in the following claims, to point out all of the invention dis closed herein.

I -claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent: y

1. A toy comprising, lin combination, a bucket having two relatively movable parts, vwhereby the bucket may be opened and closed, a bucket hoisting chain therefor, and a bucket opening chain therefor, a bucket hoisting drum, a hand crank therefor, 'a

bucket opening drum, a lost motion clutch fully unwound from its drum while the -bucket hoisting chain is partly wound there-4 on, whereby the bucket may beopened, lowered from its raised position, closed and raised, by turning the hand crank continuously in one direction.

2. A toy comprising, in combination, a grab bucket, having two hinged together jaws, a bucket hoisting` chain and a jawopening chain connected to said bucket, a hoisting drum to which said hoisting chain is secured, a jaw opening drum to which the jaw opening chain is secured, said chains being secured to their respective drums at such places thereon, when clutched together, that the hoisting chain is partly wound on its drum while the jaw opening chain is fully unwound, a hand crank secured to the hoisting drum, a stationary element and a spring, engaging the jaw opening drum and continuously holding it in frictional engagement with said stationary element, said drums, friction element and chains acting, when the hand crank is turned in one direction, with the chains fully wound upon the drums, to open'. the jaws of the bucket, lower the bucket, close the aws thereof and raise the bucket. s

3. In a grab bucket crane toy, a windlass for operating `the grab bucket of the toy, and comprising acrank shaftl having 'ahand crank thereon, 'a bucket hoisting drum fixedly mounted on said shaft and a bucket o ening drum loosely mounted on said sha a f said bucket opening drum bears, and a sprlng,` confined 1n a recess 1n one of sald drums and having one end bearlng against thebucket opening drum and frictionally holding the same element.

4. In a grab bucket crane toy, a windlass for operating the grab bucket of the toy, and comprising a crank shaft having a hand crank thereon, a bucket hoisting drum fixed- ]y mounted on said shaft and a bucket opening drum loosely mounted on said shaft, a lost motion clutch connection between said against said stationary drums, a hoisting chain secured to said `bucket holsting drum, a bucket opening chain vsecured to said bucket opening` drum, said chains being secured upon their respective drums at such places thereon, when clutched together, that the hoisting chain is partly wound upon its drum, While the bucket opening chain is Wholly unwound from its drum, and friction means for continuously applying a brakingaction on the bucket opening drum.

Freeport, 111., April 21st, 1924.

LOUIS STROHACKER. 

